Assistant Coach Allison Guth to Leave Yale

Returns to Her Chicago-area Home to Accept Same Position at Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. — Allison Guth, an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator for the Yale University women's basketball team over the past two seasons, announced today that she has accepted the same position at Northwestern University. Guth, who grew up in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Ill., will return to the Chicago area to join Head Coach Joe McKeown's staff at the Evanston, Ill., campus of Northwestern.

"Allison Guth has been a wonderful part of our Yale family for two years, and our women's basketball program as well as the Yale community will miss her very much," said Chris Gobrecht, the Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954, head coach of women's basketball at Yale. "However, we are happy for her to have the opportunity to return to her Chicago home and continue to coach in a quality academic environment. Allison is a gifted coach and special person, and we are grateful to her for the contributions she has made to our Yale basketball program."

In Guth's two seasons at Yale, she was instrumental in Yale's resurgence as a contender for the Ivy League championship and helped guide the Bulldogs to their best two-year record in 18 years, when the Bulldogs finished 15-11 in 1992-93 and 16-10 in 1993-94, and the most Ivy League wins in a two-year span (18; 10-4 in 2010-11, 8-6 in 2011-12) in the program's history.

"Yale is an incredibly special place that I am so very proud to have called my home for the past two seasons. This was a very difficult decision for me given my love for this spectacular institution, our unbelievable staff, our fantastic student-athletes, and the meaningful relationships created with the entire Yale Athletic Department. I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to work for and with Coach Gobrecht. My opportunity to join Coach McKeown and his staff at Northwestern is one that I am genuinely enthusiastic about. My family at Yale will continue to hold a special place in my heart as I continue my next chapter at Northwestern University."

During her time at Yale, Guth coached two players who will compete on the international level in junior Megan Vasquez, who will attempt to help Puerto Rico qualify for the 2012 Olympics, and sophomore Janna Graf, who will compete for Germany's U-20 squad in the European Championships. Guth's tenure also included Yale's 17th 1,000-point scorer in Vasquez, who reached the mark on Feb. 10, 2012.

While at Yale, Guth coached two All-Ivy League First Team honorees (Vasquez in 2010-11 and 2011-12), an All-Ivy Rookie of the Year (Sarah Halejian, 2011-12), an All-Ivy Second Team honoree (Mady Gobrecht, 2010-11), two All-Ivy Honorable Mention players (Michelle Cashen in 2010-11 and 2011-12) and an All-Ivy Rookie Team honoree (Graf, 2010-11).

Guth helped lead the Bulldogs to a 14-15 finish in 2010-11, which included a second-place 10-4 finish in the Ivy League standings, Yale's first sweep of Harvard since 1993-94 and the program's first-ever appearance in the WNIT. Yale finished tied for second in the Ivy League with Harvard, with both teams closing the season with identical 10-4 records in League play. It was Yale's highest finish in the Ivy League standings since the 1988-89 season, the only other season that Yale finished Ivy play with a 10-4 mark. Yale earned the Ivy's automatic berth in the WNIT by sweeping Harvard during the regular season for the first time since the 1993-94 season.

Guth was also a key factor in Yale's 16-12 finish in 2011-12, which was the most wins in the program's history since 1993-94 and just the third time the program had completed a season with 16 or more victories. Yale finished the season with an 8-6 mark in Ivy League play and went into the final game of the season with a chance to lock up second place in the Ivy League standings for a return to the WNIT.

"Coach Guth was a very important part of our team," said Allie Messimer, Yale's captain in 2012-13. "She brought energy every day, no matter how she was feeling. She committed herself to getting all of us to push ourselves to the next level in our commitment and abilities. We all loved having her around, on and off the court, and we won't forget all the lessons she has taught us. We will definitely have a hole in our hearts, but this is an opportunity for us as a team to hold ourselves to the same expectations she did. We wish her all the best at Northwestern!"